Two factors are changing the form of hardwood lumber utilization in the U.S. and Canada: 1) increased use of hardwoods in papermaking, and 2) the ability to use low and medium density hardwood in the manufacture of structural and non-structural composite products. The impact can be seen in the fact that the hardwood pulpwood harvest in the U.S. increased more than eight times faster than the sawtimber harvest over the past 50 years, and about twice as fast over the past two decades, a trend that is expected to continue. The ability to use large volumes of small diameter trees creates a disincentive to manage hardwood forests over long rotations, and skews management planning toward maintenance of relatively fast growing pioneer species.

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